New Colts GM Chris Ballard made it clear that Chuck Pagano will return as the team’s head coach in 2017:

“There were no other options. Chuck Pagano is a good football coach in the National Football League,” Ballard said. “We need to keep our eye on how hard it is to win in this league and he’s won 49 games in this league.”

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Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that new Colts GM Chris Ballard intends to keep Chuck Pagano in place as their head coach for the 2017 season before reevaluating the situation in 2018.

This shouldn’t come as a big surprise, considering that Pagano managed to survive after GM Ryan Grigson was fired. Reports also mentioned that Pagano was likely to remain the team’s head coach next year but the team was unlikely to make a commitment beyond that right now.

One interesting situation to watch next year could be the Colts targeting Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub as their next head coach.

Jason La Canfora mentioned the idea just before the Colts officially hired Ballard. Both Toub and Ballard worked together with the Chiefs and Toub has found recent interest for head-coaching vacancies, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see his name come up in connection with the Colts, depending on how things go with Pagano in 2017.

Pagano, 56, was hired as the Colts’ head coach back in 2012. He has led the team to a record of 49 and 31 (61.3 percent), which includes three playoff appearances and a trip to the AFC Championship game back in 2014.